Saturn I, Delta IV launch complex. Complexes 34 and 37 were designed to support NASA's Saturn I and Saturn IB program. Complex 37 was built in 1962, and it was occupied by NASA in January 1963. Complex 37 supported eight Saturn I and Saturn IB missions, including the first flight of an unmanned Apollo lunar module, between 29 January 1964 and 23 January 1968. Complexes 34 and 37 were mothballed in November 1971, and their service structures were scrapped in April 1972. NASA retained control of both complexes, and both sites became NASA tour stops.

Apollo CSM American manned lunar orbiter. 22 launches, 1964.05.28 (Saturn 6) to 1975.07.15 (Apollo (ASTP)). The Apollo Command Service Module was the spacecraft developed by NASA in the 1960's as a standard spacecraft for earth and lunar orbit missions. More...

DSP American military early warning satellite. 23 launches, 1970.11.06 (IMEWS 1) to 2007.11.11 (USA 176). An evolving series of satellites built by the United States to detect intercontinental ballistic missiles on launch. More...

Saturn I American orbital launch vehicle. Von Braun launch vehicle known as 'Cluster's Last Stand' - 8 Redstone tanks around a Jupiter tank core,powered by eight Jupiter engines. Originally intended as the launch vehicle for Apollo manned circumlunar flights. However it was developed so early, no payloads were available for it. More...

Cape Canaveral America's largest launch center, used for all manned launches. Today only six of the 40 launch complexes built here remain in use. Located at or near Cape Canaveral are the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, used by NASA for Saturn V and Space Shuttle launches; Patrick AFB on Cape Canaveral itself, operated the US Department of Defense and handling most other launches; the commercial Spaceport Florida; the air-launched launch vehicle and missile Drop Zone off Mayport, Florida, located at 29.00 N 79.00 W, and an offshore submarine-launched ballistic missile launch area. All of these take advantage of the extensive down-range tracking facilities that once extended from the Cape, through the Caribbean, South Atlantic, and to South Africa and the Indian Ocean. More...

The uprated Saturn I - consisting of an S-IB stage, S-IVB stage, and an instrument unit - boosted an unmanned payload into an original orbit of 185 by 189 kilometers. The inboard engine cutoff of the first stage occurred after 2 minutes 18 seconds of flight and the outboard engine cutoff was 4 seconds later. The S-IVB engine burned 4 minutes 50 seconds. No recovery was planned and the payload was expected to enter the earth's atmosphere after about four days.

Apollo 5 - .
Payload: Apollo LM-1. Mass: 14,360 kg (31,650 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Houston. Program: Apollo. Class: Moon. Type: Manned lunar lander. Spacecraft: Apollo LM; LM Descent Propulsion. Decay Date: 1968-02-12 . USAF Sat Cat: 3107 . COSPAR: 1968-007B. Apogee: 374 km (232 mi). Perigee: 169 km (105 mi). Inclination: 31.6000 deg. Period: 89.90 min. NASA launched Apollo 5 - the first, unmanned LM flight - on a Saturn IB from KSC Launch Complex 37B at 5:48:08 p.m. EST. Mission objectives included verifying operation of the LM structure itself and its two primary propulsion systems, to evaluate LM staging, and to evaluate orbital performances of the S-IVB stage and instrument unit. Flight of the AS-204 launch vehicle went as planned, with nosecone (replacing the CSM) jettisoned and LM separating. Flight of LM-1 also went as planned up to the first descent propulsion engine firing. Because velocity increase did not build up as quickly as predicted, the LM guidance system shut the engine down after only four seconds of operation, boosting the LM only to a 171 x 222 km orbit. Mission control personnel in Houston and supporting groups quickly analyzed the problem. They determined that the difficulty was one of guidance software only (and not a fault in hardware design) and pursued an alternate mission plan that ensured meeting the minimum requirements necessary to achieve the primary objectives of the mission. The ascent stage separated and boosted itself into a 172 x 961 km orbit. After mission completion at 2:45 a.m. EST January 23, LM stages were left in orbit to reenter the atmosphere later and disintegrate. Apollo program directors attributed success of the mission to careful preplanning of alternate ways to accomplish flight objectives in the face of unforeseen events.

USA 181 - .
Payload: Demosat / HLVOLSDP. Mass: 5,993 kg (13,212 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. USAF Sat Cat: 28500 . COSPAR: 2004-050A. Apogee: 36,413 km (22,625 mi). Perigee: 19,035 km (11,827 mi). Inclination: 13.4790 deg. Period: 1,044.23 min. Mass model payload. First launch of a heavy EELV. The demonstration satellite was supposed to have been inserted into a sub-geosynchronous 36,350 km circular orbit but was instead deployed in a 19,035 km x 36,413 km orbit following a 5-hour and 50-minute flight. A shorter than expected first burn of the Centaur upper stage led to an orbit well below that planned. The Air Force EELV program office claimed that the primary flight objectives were accomplished. These included the heavy boost phase, flight of the new five-meter diameter Centaur upper stage and five-meter payload fairing, extended coast, upper stage third burn and payload separation, and activation and usage of Space Launch Complex 37B. Delayed from September 2003, July 3, September 10, November 18, December 10, 11 and 12.

3CSat 1 Sparkie - .
Payload: Nanosat 2. Mass: 15 kg (33 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Manufacturer: New Mexico. Class: Technology. Type: Navigation technology satellite. Spacecraft: 3CSat. COSPAR: 2004-050x. One of a pair of student-built nanosats for stero cloud imagery. The satellites did not contact the ground after separation from the booster in a lower-than-planned orbit and their fate was unclear. It was believed that they separated but re-entered rapidly from the 105 km perigee orbit.

USA 197 - .
Payload: DSP-1 Block 18 F23. Mass: 2,270 kg (5,000 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: NSA. Manufacturer: TRW. Class: Military. Type: Early warning satellite. Spacecraft: DSP. USAF Sat Cat: 32287 . COSPAR: 2007-054A. Apogee: 36,325 km (22,571 mi). Perigee: 35,800 km (22,200 mi). Inclination: 0.0000 deg. Period: 1,436.00 min. Final DSP launch. The series was to be replaced by SBIRS, which was in the middle of a troubled development program. The Delta 4H performed well after problems on its first launch. The RL10-powered upper stage made three burns before releasing the early-warning satellite in its final geosynchronous orbit. Total cost of the flight was $700 million, with the DSP worth $400 million. The DSP carried a special 25 kg supplementary payload designed to detect extremely small nuclear tests in space. The payload was required by a secret White House/National Security Council directive to detect any attempted covert nuclear tests by Iran or North Korea.